Locals have complained after the contents of a caravan used to store rubbish were emptied onto the green in recent days - a week before a court will rule on whether the caravan can stay in place.

Last month Emma O’Driscoll and Jason O’Donoghue, who lived in a mobile home with their three children on the green area of Beechfield Estate in Fermoy, were ordered by Judge Brian O’Callaghan to remove the fixture from the area.

The injunction against the couple was brought by Cork County Council, and was prompted by complaints from residents who objected when the family, who had been living in a smaller caravan on the site, then moved in the larger mobile home.

Ms O’Driscoll told the Irish Examiner that concerns for the health of her youngest child, a five-month-old girl, prompted the move from a smaller, damp caravan to the larger mobile home.

After a court appearance, the family moved the mobile home to a nearby cemetery, and it has been claimed that the older caravan has been used to store rubbish.

Cork County Council will next week return to court to seek the removal of the smaller caravan from the Beechfield estate.

However rubbish from the caravan was emptied onto the green this week - fuelling speculation that the family intend to move back into the caravan ahead of next week’s court case.

The mobile home which had been situated at Beechfield Park is now located at the cemetery at Kilcrumper. Picture: Dan Linehan

Local Fine Gael Councillor Noel McCarthy told the Cork Today show on C103 that those living close to the caravan had complained about the smell of rubbish emanating from it before it was emptied, and that now the smell is worse.

“All the rubbish now that was in the caravan for the last nearly I suppose 10 days now is now out in the green area, and as you can imagine that is totally unacceptable,” Cllr McCarthy said.

Cllr McCarthy said locals believe the family are moving back into the caravan to strengthen their case before the court next week.

He pleaded with the family to accept the council’s offer of emergency accommodation and said he had received complaints of intimidating behaviour in recent days.

The residents are really upset and I’m getting calls all this week saying they are being upset every day by something said or something done. That can’t continue, we must do something about it and put the people of Beechfield back to the normality they had before this happened.